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Friday, 29 August 2014

1. I'm not the safest driver. I don't speed or anything, I just have a tendency of... drifting. Not on the road, in my head. On a long stretch of road, my eyes lose focus as I stare into another world that's somehow there, just in front of me, only no-one can see it but me. And then I wake up, startled by a corner. Someone really should take away my license. Or get me a personal chauffeur called James who also does the shopping, the cleaning up, and the cooking.

2. I am prone to minor burnouts. When I'm under stress, I start feeling like I have to work around the clock to get everything done before deadline so I can do some more work. Relaxing is overwhelmingly difficult for me when I have orders to fill. I stop sleeping and eating, and then a song catches me the wrong way, and I think "yeah, it would be really easy to walk through the window". After that, it's Oblivion for a week, TYVM.

Daily schedule would probably be a very good idea to keep things from getting to me but... well, I have issues with schedules.

3. Having someone (even me) tell me what to do and when to do it, pushes me to a spiral of "fuck this, I'm going to wonderland". In other words, if I have a schedule, I'll do anything humanly possible to avoid fulfilling duties.

Charming, yes? And I have a business to run. Stupid ideas never cease happening in my head.

4. If I can't have cheese and jam with my pancakes, I'll pout. I look cute pouting, but you should still be prepared. Because

5. Being hungry makes me throw things. Low energy levels affect my mood drastically (yes, I know I'm not the only one), and standing in between me and food can cause serious damage.

6. I'm not a very social person, and when I'm upset, I lose the ability to communicate. The worst things happen when someone asks me what I'd like to eat when I'm hungry and upset. So if you're around when this occurs, bring something, anything to eat, accompanied with a takeout menu. Actually, a bunch of them so I can just point at what I'd like. And you have to order because

7. As mentioned, I'm not a very social person. Small talk with a stranger is a nightmare to me, and making a phone call is to be avoided at all cost. I'd gladly drive an hour if it gets me out of calling someone on the phone. I'm very happy email and customer contact forms came to rescue me from telephones. I do have a phone, but it's most often running out of charge or misplaced. If you called and I didn't pick up, pls send email so I can reply without feeling the pressure of coming up with something witty to say before the other person loses interest and goes away.

8. Like every introvert, I need me-time after being around people. Quite often I wish I was more social. It would be nice to be able to have friends to go shopping with, or partying, or anything. I guess some of us were made to talk to cats and trees and feel utterly and completely lost.

I've made myself sad now. And hungry. Must go point at something and hope Husband catches the drift and feeds me before my world collapses.

Sunday, 17 August 2014

It's Sunday. I like to take Sundays off, and do nothing but play games and watch films and knit.

Today, we're moving my clothes upstairs to our new bedroom. So instead of chilling, I've gotten a wicked thigh workout carrying my skirts and dresses and blouses and corsets up the stairs. Husband's friend (mine, too) came to help with the furniture, so I'm taking a breather.

So. Sha-e-Fa -series is now available on Amazon, and I'd like to share some more light on the first volume, WizardWars. It was an absolute joy to write, and I'm hoping readers will enjoy it, too.

Ingold?

It is always a good time for afternoon tea, Ingold often says, sitting in a soft chair by the fire in the hall of the castle upon Wizard's Peak. He seldom enjoys his tea in the afternoon, but takes comfort in it at odd times.

Ingold the Great is the mightiest wizard in all of the Universe. He is kind of heart, lonely, and burdened with old age. In a way, he reminds me of Gandalf the White. They are both white-haired, long of beard, and wrinkled. And they both hold a might stronger than the foundations of the earth, like Galadriel once said.

Ingold is the saviour of those in need of saving, keeper of many things secret, healer, protector, father to a dragon, highest member of the Council of Wizards, and, in all, a very nice guy. He has done much good in the Universe, and most of his deeds have gone unnoticed like good deeds often do. Still, he is respected, loved, and looked up to.

In a way, he is a perfect being.

But like we all, he has his flaws.

Loneliness has always kept him company, and in his old age, Ingold decides to take on an apprentice. Someone he has watched for many years. Someone dear to his heart.

Someone who will alter his world.

J'dra?

J'dra is a woman of mixed blood (I do love my half-breeds). She is half dr'chen, half elf, and some part of her blood remembers the ancient ways of the weizen. Might is strong in her, but she is not one of the chosen one. Born to a dr'chen-woman, she is regarded as an abomination, and sent to the elven world to learn the ways of the ones blessed with near-eternal life.

Fitting in does not come easily to her, and by the time Ingold the Great summons her, she has managed to make herself quite well hated in the world of the elves. Where they are bound by etiquette, J'dra rebels against all their rules, hiding her secret of magic. She becomes Ingold's apprentice, not out of her own will, but because might wants her to.

And after...

After, nothing remains the same.

Kaim?

Kaim is a dwarf, small and grey like most of his kin. But unlike most of his race, Kaim is not content with the simple life of his people. He leaves his home, a small village, and ventures out in seek of adventure.

His adventure turns out nothing like he expected.

Kaim finds his fate bound to that of Ingold the Great, and as the most powerful wizard in the known Universe offers to take the dwarf under his wing, something changes. For the first time since the dawn of time, might looks kindly upon a dwarf. Why? I do not know. Maybe Ingold had something to do with it. Or maybe Kaim was just to magic's liking.

Maybe it was time for a new streak of might to be born, a small streak, grey and unnoticed.

Lindea?

Lindea is thought to be the last of her race, the last dragon born into the Universe. Ingold the Great finds her as a child, and saves her, like he has saved so many others. The castle upon Wizard's Peak is a safe haven for those lost, for those abandoned and in need of rescuing. Lindea comes to Ingold burned, wounded by her own fire, but it is someone else who saves her.

The Oracle?

The Oracle first appeared in Sha-e-Fa (I wrote the series in a funky order), and was one the characters I thought to have a minor part to play. She returned in Sha-Nazen, and in WizardWars, I got to look deeper into her life. And she returned in Dragons, to my surprise.

The Oracle (like many others, I have forgotten her true name), comes to Ingold in need of salvation. Only she doesn't need a place to stay like the girls who remain in Ingold's castle cleaning, cooking, dusting, cooing, no, she comes with a demand. She is one of those blessed by might, but instead of embracing her gift of foresight, she wants to be rid of it.

I am completely in love with the Oracle. She is tough, she is a survivor, she is the ultimate girl-power-character in my realm. Not even Jonda comes close to her.

The castle upon Wizard's Peak?

Ingold the Great has built his home upon a great mountain. It is called Wizard's Peak only because a wizard dwells there. His home can be a cold, dreary place, but most times, Ingold lavishes his might upon it, making it warm and inviting. No-one knows how many rooms and chambers the castle withholds: it seems might forges new ones into the stone when needed.

The castle upon Wizard's Peak is a safe haven for those in need of rescuing, and has offered a home for many in need. In Ingold's castle, no-one is judged, no-one is truly punished, no-one has to go hungry. All those who remain there are loved, cared for, and kept safe.

The castle is, in many ways, much like Ingold: loving, caring, comforting, a bit scatter-brained, but home to those who need it.